Chapter 774: Recruited

Several months had passed since the major upheaval in Lingxu City. All the relevant news had spread, and Nian Zanli's generals knew that General Nian had been condemned by the supreme Heavenly Palace, making it ninety percent certain he would not be released.

A military commander like him had always held military power firmly in his grasp. However, the moment he fell, Xunzhou was left without a leader, and his subordinates immediately fractured, vying for power.

Due to the evenly matched forces, this power struggle had not yet concluded.

According to Beijia's tradition, it typically would not intervene, preferring to wait for these surrendered generals to fight amongst themselves. The final victor would then bow and report to Lingxu City, requesting to succeed as governor.

Therefore, both the Kite Royal Court and external observers concluded that the Xunzhou army would temporarily cease its attacks on Xiazhou.

Nian Zanli was finished, and even if there were successors, they likely wouldn't share his deep obsession with attacking Xiazhou.

Taking advantage of the internal chaos in Xunzhou, He Chunhua, the governor of Xiazhou, decisively dispatched troops and reclaimed Haozhou, which Nian Zanli had previously captured!

The Kite Kingdom bordered Beijia. Xunzhou had originally been a frontier region, but after Nian Zanli defected to Beijia, the front line immediately pushed south to Haozhou.

Haozhou didn't hold out for long; it was quickly swallowed by Nian Zanli, and only then did the flames of war reach Xiazhou.

He Chunhua's reclamation of Haozhou this time brought immense relief and vindication to the Kite Royal Court. His achievement was no less significant than his previous defeat of Nian Zanli's army by the Han River.

It was only then that He Lingchuan learned a piece of news, much to his surprise:

"Huh? You mean the Governor of Xiazhou was just recalled to the Kite capital?"

Elder Qian nodded. "This news arrived just two days ago, but I believe it to be accurate."

The Rongshan Sect itself bordered the Kite Kingdom and had disciples serving as officials in the Kite Court, making it easy to obtain firsthand information.

He Lingchuan naturally couldn't help but press for details. "Why?"

He Chunhua had been promoted to Governor of Xiazhou barely a year ago; why would the Kite Court recall him?

Elder Dao's eyes flickered a few times.

This Young Master He seemed to share a surname with the Governor of Xiazhou.

Was it a coincidence?

Elder Dao stroked his beard and said, "This Governor of Xiazhou was commended by the Royal Court for his merits; he was conferred the title of Marquis Wuwei and appointed General Changning. Considering the timing, he should be returning to the capital to receive his titles. This promotion seems a bit hasty. In our sect's view, the Kite King might intend to send him south to quell rebellions."

He Chunhua had been transferred from Prefect of Heishui City to Governor of Xiazhou. During this time, he had defeated rebels at Woling Pass, repelled Xunzhou scouts, and even exchanged blows with Hong Chenglüe, a renowned Beijia general, engaging in battles with wins and losses on both sides.

For the current Kite Kingdom, such a talent was exceedingly rare. Shouldn't good steel be used on the blade's edge?

Since the northern border was now peaceful, the Kite Kingdom would regret letting He Chunhua remain idle in Xiazhou for even a day. They needed to quickly dispatch him south to eliminate threats for the country.

This was called making the best use of talent.

Three days later, the entire territory of Rongshan was declared clear, and the insect plague was completely eradicated from the land.

Amidst the cheers and jubilation of the Rongshan people, Qiu Hu quietly departed, returning to the ruins of Baicun. He offered incense and burned joss paper before the graves of his foster parents and all the villagers, old and young.

His village had been tragically massacred during the first wave of the strange cicadas' invasion.

Qiu Hu's visit today was both to fulfill a vow and to bid farewell.

He also brought a bucket of paint and meticulously traced the inscriptions on the gravestones.

"Hu is leaving for a distant land and cannot return often to visit," he murmured. "Please forgive me, my fellow villagers."

As he respectfully kowtowed several times and stood up, He Lingchuan was already standing behind him.

He saw that Qiu Hu had prepared a long feast for the entire village, with fish, meat, fruits, and cakes; at least forty-eight bowls were arranged.

Qiu Hu knelt on one knee before He Lingchuan, his fist resting on the ground. "I keep my word," he said. "From now on, I am at your lord's command."

He Lingchuan waited for him to complete the gesture, then held his arm and said solemnly, "Excellent. From this day forward, I entrust my back to you."

Qiu Hu nodded. "You can rest assured!"

He Lingchuan was genuinely pleased to have someone under his command again. Although Qiu Hu had only recently met him and was currently with him out of gratitude, he couldn't yet be described as loyal.

But this was no matter.

He was always adept at winning people over.

The next day, He Lingchuan bid farewell to the Rongshan Sect and set off for the Kite Kingdom with Dong Rui, Granny Zhu, Qiu Hu, and fifteen other Rongshan disciples. Accompanying them were three "Deputy Administrators" assigned to him by Elder Qian. The leader, named Hu Qin, specialized in finance and actuarial science, essentially serving as Rongshan's negotiation representative and investigative specialist.

He Lingchuan only learned after conversing with Hu Qin that the Rongshan Sect had long ago dispatched people to conduct on-site inspections of the assets the Kite Kingdom offered as collateral and had identified every single flaw. This showed that Elder Dao hadn't been entirely truthful before; the Rongshan Sect wasn't uninterested in the Kite Kingdom's assets, but merely dissatisfied with the collateral.

They were all seasoned and cunning; not a single one of them was easy to deal with.

However, their completion of the preliminary research did save He Lingchuan considerable effort in his subsequent actions.

Otherwise, with just a dozen or so Rongshan disciples under He Lingchuan, how could they possibly visit all the collateral assets in such a short time?

Coiling Dragon World.

Over four months had passed since the large-scale bandit attack on Yuheng City. The Longchuan trade route was once again bustling with travelers, with traffic recovering to about sixty percent of its peak.

The Green Wolf Post Station had originally been destroyed by river bandits. Later, Yuheng City's authorities rebuilt the station, doubling its area and improving its facilities, allowing it to accommodate more guests.

This post station was like a microcosm of the entire Longchuan trade route.

A few months ago, banditry was rampant on the trade route, and merchant caravans became fewer. But Yuheng City's new recruits were trained in batches and deployed for patrols on the trade route.

The Longchuan river bandits were not to be outdone; they repeatedly launched surprise attacks on the official military patrols, each time deploying over a hundred men, coming and going with incredible audacity.

Faced with the river bandits' ambushes and encirclement, the Yuheng City army refused to yield an inch. Along this southern trade route, guerrilla warfare, encirclement and annihilation battles, and skirmishes erupted repeatedly between the officials and bandits.

In these head-on clashes, both sides paid a bloody price.

In just over a month, the Yuheng City army suffered over 160 casualties and 350 injuries. The opposing river bandits sustained fewer losses, with only 67 casualties and just over eighty injuries.

He Lingchuan was not surprised by these figures.

The patrols operated openly on the trade route, while the river bandits lay in ambush, hidden in the shadows. In ambush warfare, patrols would always suffer some disadvantage.

Moreover, since they were called the Yuheng "New Army," the force primarily consisted of raw recruits who had undergone only three months of winter training; their blades and spears had only struck dummies. Even if some had seen blood, it was only when they "beat the fallen dog" after the river bandits' failed attack on Yuheng City, not in an evenly matched battle.

Given the circumstances, their lack of experience led to an excessively high casualty rate for the Yuheng New Army.

But this ratio was within He Lingchuan's acceptable range.

"A compassionate person cannot lead an army," he thought. How can there be a war without casualties?

The patrol teams were composed of veterans leading new recruits. Not only had their numbers increased from before, but the sentry system had also been optimized. Therefore, the tragedy of Miao Mingming's entire team being wiped out, which happened initially, had not recurred.